The Reaper
by Niknakz93
Summary: Clary wakes up, seemingly left behind after dark in a closed shopping mall. There's no one else there. Until she meets Jace. -Halloween Clace oneshot-


_Just a oneshot I wanted to write for Halloween. Enjoy guys and review maybe? x_

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**The Reaper**

Clary was frustrated. How could her mother leave her here? They'd been shopping in the mall when Jocelyn had wandered off towards the shoes. Clary went down to McDonalds and bought a shake, sitting there waiting for her mother to walk past so she could wave her arms and grab her attention. In her boredom, she'd shredded the lid in a way that resembled a flower.

And then she had dozed off with her chin upon the folded backs of her hands. She must have-? How else would she still be here? The mall was dark and deserted. Clary blinked hard, shivering a little- what had happened? Where was everyone? _How the hell could they have left her here alone?_

"I'm going to sue their damn asses off" she hissed, rising to her feet. A glance down and her shake had been stolen or cleaned away. _Great, just great._

Clary glanced around- the escalators were off, but the water fountain in the middle of the mall wasn't. It was bathed in moonlight from the full moon above, shining through the glass domed ceiling. The water was trickling softly, rippling and distorting the silvery light reflected on the surface. With all the shops shut and the shutters closed, it was distinctly eerie.

Walking down the escalators that led to the ground floor was easy now they were still. Clary looked around for security cameras, waving at one when she saw it, shouting "hey! You locked me in douches!"

She waited on the ground floor for ten minutes, but no one came.

And then she heard it. _A screech of car tires. _Clary jumped, spinning around as the sound echoed around the mall. But there was nothing there. She whimpered softly, emerald eyes flickering back and forth- maybe the mall was haunted after dark. It was Halloween night after all. _Of all nights to get stuck in the mall,_ she thought sarcastically.

But why hadn't her mother called for her? Or looked for her? Why had no one woken her up?

Surely someone would notice a young teenage girl sat fast asleep at a table when they were clearing up.

A prickle crept down Clary's spine and she felt her heart race pick up once more- was someone there?

And then something caught her eye. She frowned, walking forward until she reached the double doors. The entrance of the mall. There was a bin situated there, its metal rims shining silver from the light of the moon.

Sticking out of the side was a milkshake container. Its lid was her flower. Clary rolled her eyes- so it _had _been stolen. Gross. Who would want to steal someone else's milkshake?

Clary tried the double doors, but they were locked tight. She looked for an emergency button, something that would open the door for her. But there was nothing.

What time was it? Clary walked to the other end of the mall where the clock tower stood. It was old, but study with brass handles and face. It showed eleven thirty.

It was half an hour until midnight.

A flash of movement made Clary start. Her eyes swiveled to the shoe shop she'd lost her mother in. It, like the rest of the mall, was locked tight. Clary's sneakers squeaked softly against the tiles of the floor as she walked forwards.

Perfume hit her. Her mother's perfume.

Maybe she was here-? That was insane, but Clary had no idea what to do.

She followed her nose. Followed the smell of perfume up. Up to the top of the mall where the cinema was sat. Films that were playing were finished by now, but their posters were still on the wall. A horror film with its bloody and gory characters on the front caught Clary's eye now- from the way the light was shining upon the display, it was like they were alive. Almost leering at her.

Another shiver crept down her spine and she turned away, walking over to the railing. From outside, you could see in. And vise versa.

Clary rubbed at her chest a little as she peered down and outside- it felt weird. Like a bruise was forming. How the hell did she get that? Maybe she'd slept funny.

There were cordons all around the mall. Bright orange, blocking the way of anyone who wanted to come in. P_olice cordons. _

Clary felt uneasy- something had happened while she'd slept. Maybe everyone had been in a panic to get out.

But that would have woken her? And surely they wouldn't have taken their time to shut all the shops down properly.

Police sirens seemed to whine around the mall, making Clary clamp a hand over her ears, another whimper escaping her. The panic was settling in.

And then, from the entrance of the mall, she heard it; a phone ringing.

_Someone was here. And she could hear voices._

_"Yeah mom?"_

_"I'm sat in-"_

_"Oh okay I'll meet you outside at the car."_

Crap. Someone was going to leave the mall and she was going to miss her only chance of getting outside! Clary fumbled for her own phone in her pocket, but when she pressed a button, there was no signal. She swore, shoving it back into her pocket.

When she reached the entrance of the mall, no one was there. She could hear no one. No footsteps.

"Hello?" she called with a groan when no one answered her.

And then she heard a _bang. _It was so loud that she screamed, scaring herself further as her cry echoed through the empty place. And then there was the screeching of tires again. A scream followed it. Clary dragged a shaking hand through her hair, forcing back tears as she called, truly starting to panic "anyone?! I heard you! You're here!"

Footsteps on the escalator and Clary looked up. She saw something again. This time, it wasn't a figment of her imagination- it was a boy about her age. He was tall, dressed in black jeans and jumper. His boots were black too. He blended into the darkness perfectly.

Clary sighed in relief, taking a step forward. "Oh thank god! I was beginning to think I was going mad! Or that this place was haunted."

The young man stopped dead. In the moonlight, Clary saw that he was handsome. Devilishly handsome with his hair perfectly framing his face. It was the color of the moonlight itself now it was bathed in it. His eyes seemed silver.

"Ghosts scare you?" he sounded amused. Clary ignored him, asking "can you get us out of here? I- I need to find my mother. Can I borrow your phone?"

"I don't have one" the boy told her calmly, slipping his hands into his jeans pockets. Clary paused. "I heard you," she began slowly. "Talking. On the phone."

"That was not me."

Clary took a step back, suddenly afraid- why would a boy dressed like he was be wandering about the mall at night? It was almost midnight.

"I've come to take you, though, if that's what you're wondering," the boy told her. "Don't fear the reaper."

_What a strange comparison_ Clary thought. She cleared her throat. "So can you take me back then? Or open the door? My mom must be worried sick."

"Did you see what happened outside? The cordons?"

Clary paused before replying with "I did."

"Aren't you curious to know what happened?"

Clary shivered involuntarily. "Can you let me out please? You're scaring me."

"A girl got hit by a car outside," the boy told her conversationally. "They rushed her to hospital."

She frowned, suddenly feeling sad. "Is she okay?"

"I'm afraid her chest got crushed. She was looking for her mother in the parking lot when an idiot pulled out and _wham._"

_That could have been me _Clary thought. _I was looking for my mother in the lot. Wait. _She blinked twice. What? She hadn't left McDonalds. Where had that thought come from.

The boy was watching her closely, which forced Clary to ask "who are you?"

"Jace Herondale" he told her, cocking his head a little. "And you are Clary."

Alarm bells went off in Clary's head, causing her to snarl, taking a step back "stay away from me you freak! Stalking _freak!_"

Jace laughed, shaking his head. "No. Your mother was asking on the tannoy for you earlier."

_Oh. _Clary felt like an idiot. She paused awkwardly, looking for conversation. "So uh how do we get out?"

"That's up to you" he shrugged. "Up-" he pointed up. "Or down." His thumb jerked down. Something about the gesture made Clary feel uneasy. "Up" she muttered. "We can see people walking past from the viewing area. Wave for help if you can't get us out. How did you even get in?"

Another shrug. "I must have fallen asleep." A playful smirk caught Clary's eye when he added "and everyone wants to go up. No one wants to go down. Rest assured, you're going up."

Clary made him walk first up the motionless escalators, nervous the entire time- he was way too calm for someone in this kind of situation.

When they were there, no one was in sight. It was ten minutes until midnight.

"Halloween," Jace mused. "The night where the veil between the living and the dead is at its thinnest. Ghosts sometimes get stuck here at that time unless guided through, did you know?"

"No" Clary muttered. "Halloween creeps me out. And ghosts. I don't like ghosts. They're white… things. They hover around screaming at you."

Jace started laughing. It unnerved Clary how it echoed, making it sound like there was a thousand Jace Herondale's in the place. When he stopped, he chuckled out "what would you do if you saw a ghost, Clary? Scream? Or throw salt at it like that TV show?"

Clary ignored him. He was nuts. She turned with a sigh, walking over to the mirror that was fixed to a pillar a few steps away. Her hair tie was coming loose.

When she looked at her reflection, she was expecting to see her face reflected back. Her orange hair would be soft in the moonlight, her eyes maybe jade.

But there was no reflection. Clary dropped her hair tie, just staring. She waved a hand before it, blinking in confusement. All she could see in the mirror was the reflection of the vending machine behind her.

_"I've never gotten used to that."_

Clary jolted violently as Jace spoke right behind her. She spun around to face him. But then her eyes widened in realization- she hadn't seen his reflection either.

What was going on?

"You're a smart girl Clary," Jace told her slowly. "Come on."

She swore she heard the screeching of car brakes again. The bang as a young woman's body was thrown over the top of it as it collided into her head-on.

Clary's eyes flickered to the cordon outside. What was-?

It was like she was hearing the accident happen all over again. That poor girl…

Jace sighed, raising a hand and brushing Clary's cheek lightly with a finger. She wanted to jerk away, but didn't.

How could she replay an accident that had happened so many hours earlier? Hear it echo around the mall-?

Where was her reflection?

And then Clary started to shake. It was impossible. It… those things didn't happen in real life.

_After the girl had spoken to her mother, she'd gotten up from her table, walking down the escalators. She paused for a second to toss the empty shake container into the bin by the door before walking out. The girl had looked both ways before crossing the road, the parking lot dead ahead. That was when the driver had pulled out from his space without looking or turning on his indication lights, pressing the accelerator and shooting forwards. His foot hadn't hit the brakes until the girl had shattered the glass of his screen and gone flying overhead. The crunch of bones could be heard all around the lot._

_She'd been dead before she hit the ground._

Clary wanted to scream. Her. _It had been her._

But did that mean-?

"Am I… dead-?" she asked Jace, voice barely even a whisper. Jace's smile was almost sad. "As a dodo, sadly."

"I can't be dead-!" Clary choked out, voice breaking. "I'm a teenager! I've… I've never even been kissed! I was… I was supposed to go to Comic Con with Simon next year. I was going to cosplay with him! I was supposed… to fall in love and grow up. Have children. _Live._" She shook her head insistently. "This isn't real. These things _don't happen._"

"Death can come for you at anytime, Clary," Jace told her quietly. "Old, young. Sick, healthy, weak or old. Death goes where he's supposed to go. At specific times. There's no stopping death."

"What?" Clary laughed brokenly, "and it's my time _now?_ What about my mother! The guilt… it'll…" tears leaked from her eyes. "I can't leave her."

"Clary," Jace told her firmly, placing his hands atop her small shoulders. Clary didn't throw him off and he could feel her shaking. "Those things don't matter anymore."

"Of course they matter," Clary whispered. "That's what makes us…" she trailed off. She was going to say Human. But now-?

"Am I one of your lost souls?" she asked him now. "One of your trapped spirits that needs to be guided?"

"Mmhmm" Jace nodded, eyes fixed upon her hair as a finger of his twirled itself around a lock. Out of the moonlight, it looked auburn. "You _were _a lost soul, Clary. But I found you. And now I'm going to lead you out of here."

"What… to some 'better place?'"

"Who knows?" Jace replied quietly. "You'll have to wait and see. Be brave. Your mother is brave, even now. And I know you are so much like her. I always see my lost souls before I have to find them."

_What if he's lying? _Clary thought. _What if mom's crying her heart out? _

And then she wondered something else- Simon. He'd miss her so terribly too. She was worried about them.

"Come on," Jace muttered to Clary, holding out his hand. She just stared at it, hearing him add softly. "It's time to go. For real this time. No more wandering for you now, Clarissa."

A kind of peace settled over Clary as she hesitantly reached out her hand towards his. _They'll all be okay, _she thought. _Maybe not right now, but they will be. They're strong. I don't… have to worry._

And then she took his hand.

Jace's fingers tightened around her. A moment of hesitation and he leaned forwards, pressing a brief but soft kiss to her lips, whispering against them before he drew back. "There- now you've been kissed." Clary's lips twitched into the smallest of smiles.

And she felt at peace.


End file.
